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Sakaja explains why Uhuru Park was closed during New Year celebrations


Nairobi governor Johnson Sakaja has explained why the revamped Uhuru Park was closed during the New Year celebrations with the county residents being forced to get other entertainment joints or churches to cross over into the New Year.

While responding to an online user who termed the move as ‘unfair’,  Sakaja explained that the park is not yet completed.

“Good morning governor, it was unfair to close down Uhuru Park yesterday for millions of hustlers who could not afford to celebrate the New Year in Mombasa,” the online user said.

“Uhuru Park was only open for five days during the Nairobi Festival. Works are yet to be concluded before the official opening and commissioning,” Sakaja responded.

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The park was reopened during the inaugural Nairobi Festival which ran between December 12 to December 16, after more than a year of the closure.

The major facelift of the iconic park started in 2021 during the era of former president Uhuru Kenyatta, under the administration of the defunct Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS).

The new-look park now has modern terraced sitting areas with a biosphere look, a dancing fountain put up along Processional Way, and several eateries and two high-end restaurants.

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The 12.9-hectare park also boasts of manicured lawns, maintained trees, enhanced walkways and green spaces with a lilies pond being turned into an aquarium named Uhuru Aquascape.

Larger artificial lake that has been in existence since 1969 had also been transformed into a major waterfront with a Swahili restaurant.

With the facilities put in place, Governor Sakaja hinted during the site visit that there could be an entrance fee to the parks, which would be used for maintenance once it is reopened to the public.

The National Assembly had allocated Sh1 billion for the renovations of the parks through the Supplementary Appropriation Bill, 202.

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